Summertime Blues

Thanks Anna, once again, you are right on the money, but don't forget the small things we revelled in as children; The Library, long days languishing in a swimming-hole, Slip 'n Slide, water-guns, G.I. Joe, when you think of it, none of us with a stoop and a group of friends had to "Go on Vacation". My twenty-year-old and I sit in the back yard and play with kittens that have emerged from the orchard each day from five to eight p.m. How lucky I am. We can both enjoy a few kittens and a warm summer afternoon in the shade.

Anna Quindlen's recent lament, "Summertime Blues", could just as easily have been titled "Crisis of Confidence" or "National Malaise", as the writer apparently went to the Jimmy Carter School of American Psychoanalysis. Quindlen offers no solutions for our collective woes, but she might start with a bit of individual accountability. The foreclosures and 'credit card indenture' she mentions could be avoided by simply spending within one's means. The entitlement mentality that led to purchases of unaffordable homes and accessories naturally leads to the expectation of government relief from such obligations. This leaves our government fewer resources to take care of true victims Quindlen mentions, such as those affected by the Iowa flooding and California wildfires.

What a huge Bummer, Anna! Is it just a coincidence that you and Abe are sporting the same pose? Hmmmm?

Anna-
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Your articles are one of the best reasons to subscribe to Newsweek. You often put into words the thoughts that were edging their way into my consciousness, only you say it more eloquently. Keep up the good work!
-Jerry

Thank you. It is a summer of discontent. I am lucky that I am a bit older and have played my cards close to my chest when it comes to gambling on finances. I live in small college town which affords me the luxury of not having to commute and having wonderful summer opportunites literally at my doorstep, There will be no vacation. And I will shop with Satan at Wal Mart to save a few dollars. I am just thankful that I don't have to sit on the Capitol Beltway for hours upon hours anymore. I am grateful that I hitched the wagon and moved the family to the Mountain West in the early 90's when I could afford a large home for the children. I am grateful that I don't have credit cards, that my home has more equity than I have to pay off, and that I am quite simply blessed. But I do miss those summers in my Grandmother's rambling house at the shore, the carefree days of wondering if I would take the surfboard or bodyboard to the beach. The endless summer without television and many books that my cousins and I would linger over in the warmth of the sun. We will weather this stormy, hot, and challenging summer, but yes, I would like to give my children the warmth of the sun again.

Funny, I was born in Aoril but Autumn always resonates with me. I think that as a child I always associated it with new beginings (new school year, catching up with friends, start college, etc) which an adventurous child always finds exciting. Plus you can't beat a cool crisp early Autumn day in the Northeast, before the rainy doldrums of late November set in.

Yawn. More "sky is falling" crap that we see every time a Presidential election occurs when a Republican is in the White House.

Watch how quickly "America's optimism" will return if Obama is elected.

While the people touched by the terrible midwest flooding and the California fires will remember this summer for those events, most people in this nation will remember it as the "beginning of the end" for a life style many of us have enjoyed for decades.
The stock market crash that began from irresponsible loans issued by a greedy mortgage and banking system and terribly reinforced by exuberant energy prices. This will be the summer when most Americans will realize that we are no longer members of the "chosen few" of this world. A summer when raging inflation
of all goods we need to continue living were sky rocketing. A capitalistic economy totally out of control, with neither a congress nor a president willing to take the necessary steps to put it all in check. In the midst of all this we, as voters, must decide between two people who will lead this nation back to stabilization. Unfortunately, neither of them have a clue. They are both products of the same government that got us into this mess. What will they (meaning the new president and congress) decide is the most important first step. Dealing with Muslim oil or Muslim terrorists. It will probably be to raise taxes on the working class of this country in order to further finance a complacent Washington machine and to increase entitlement programs to further the "redistribution of wealth" goal of this government so as to keep the minorities happy. Hold on. greatntrygreatountry